Help sought for refugees

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The country needs help to resettle 560 genuine refugees in Manus who do not want to live in Papua New Guinea, according to Foreign Affairs and Immigrations Minister Rimbink Pato.
Pato called for help from the international community, including Australia, during a meeting in Washington DC last month.
He raised the plight of 560 refugees in PNG who do not want to resettle in his country and are seeking to be sent elsewhere, during his meeting with Australian counterpart Julie Bishop in Canberra on Tuesday.
Pato said a total population of 1,600, 857 were at the Manus Refugee Processing Centre and 62 at the Transit Centre at East Lorengau.
He said only 24 were resettled in the country.
He reportedly told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation:
“There are ongoing discussions between our (PNG) officials and officials from Australian government and as I have said, the ongoing discussions relate to what we have to do to those who have determined, those who are determined under the relevant legislation as genuine refugees under the convention, where they should be settled and if they don’t want to be settled what do we do with them. Five hundred and sixty of these people have been determined as genuine refugees for the purposes of resettlement in Papua New Guinea under the agreement but do not want to resettle in PNG.
“That’s why I was at a meeting explaining to the membership of the UN, including Australia, that there was a need to help settle those who do not want to resettle in Papua New Guinea.”